Driving in Europe is a truely "unique" experience -- only topped by driving in the Far East, Middle East and Africa. Anyone planning on taking a trip to Europe and "cruising down the highway" needs to seriously rethink that idea a bit.
If you rent a car in the British Isles, the steering wheeel will be on the right-hand ("passenger") side of the car and you'll be shifting gears and pushing any buttons (radio, windshield wipers, etc...) with your left hand. It's almost impossible to find a car in the BA with left-hand drive. they also drive on the left-hand side of the road -- opposite of the US. In France and the "Continent", they drive on the same side of the road as in the USA and have left-hand drive.
I say "shifting" because most vehicles rented have manual transmissions -- you can get an automatic but be prepared for a "sticker-shock" price diference. If you can afford the difference, splurge -- it typically takes a week or more to get semi-comfortable shifting with your left hand. You'll also be surprised at how much stopping and starting there is (the exception being if you're on a motorway -- that's where you just stick-it in high gear and forget about it!)
Instead of intersections they have roundabouts where you will need to downshift, and, if there is any traffic, you will then need to quickly accelerate entering the roundabout -- failure to do so will result in an appropriate amount of horn-blowing and finger-gestures in your direction -- people already in the roundabout typically do not slow down, instead treating it as their own personal Le Mans speed track -- this includes large trucks.
The other "fun" thing about roundabouts is that they can be one, two, three or more lanes wide -- sometimes the outer lane only goes as far as the first exit which creates a problem if you need to get off on the second or third exit -- sometimes the outer lane goes all the way around although staying in that lane for a complete rotation is highly dangerous as everyone expects you to exit before that and will cut in front of you to exit -- (there is no indication of what the layout is until you get to the exit itself) -- trying to maneuver and downshift/upshift at the same time while dodging other cars can result in severe heart palpitations. I've driven both standard shift and automatic shift cars -- give yourself a "fighting chance" -- go with an automatic.
While driving, you can expect to encounter four different kinds of roadways.
1) Motorways -- we usually call them freeways or highways -- multiple lanes with marked on-ramps and off-ramps -- posted speed limits ranging from 50mph to 85mph. In the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), the limits are posted in "miles per hour" -- in Ireland and the rest of Europe they will be posted in "kilometers per hour" -- be sure you remember which country you're in -- "130" in France does not mean the same as "130" in England Signs warning of "Video Radar Speed Cameras" are everywhere -- thing is, the whole time I was driving, I saw maybe two actual cameras -- I think they spent all their funding on signs and couldn't afford to buy the cameras. Be aware no one drives the posted speed limit unless they have a two cyclinder car going up a hill. Slower vehicles stay to the left and pass on the right. Passing and being passed is a periennial sport in which the object is to see how close to the other car's bumpers you can get when changing lanes -- 5'-6' is considered a good score, 3'-4' gets extra points! The rules of the game remain the same on the continent except you stay to the right and pass on the left. You also get extra points for a series of lane-changing, weaving passes at high speed.
2) Primary roads -- if you're going to see the country at all, this is where you'll be spending a large part of your "driving" time. These are typically one lane wide in each direction (occasionally two lanes wide) and are usually only separated by yellow lines (solid, dashes or semi-dashes). Solid means "no passing", dashed means "its' okay to pass if the way is clear" and semi-dashes can mean a number of things -- you're approaching an intersection, you can expect to encounter merging traffic, an extra lane is available for slower moving traffic such as farm equipment or merely some painting crew striped it that way because they thought it looked "pretty" and it has no significance! The speed limit varies -- in France, it's typically 80kph except when you pass through a village it drops at the outskirts to 50kph -- in the UK, it's typically 60mph dropping to 30mph as you approach a village --- sometimes the change is marked, sometimes it's not -- you're still supposed to know even if its not marked. Be aware the "posted speed limit" frequently has nothing to do with the "driveability" of the road -- hairpin turns -- 80kph is common. Also be aware most locals totally ignore the posted speed limit, driving however fast they want to -- usually far in excess of the limit -- and tailgating is an acceptable tactic to get you to go faster or let them pass. Sheep occasionally encountered on the roadway -- frequently lying down sleeping in the middle of the road -- may also find yourself behind a herd of cows moving from one pasture to another.
3) Secondary roads -- my label, not theirs -- typically one to one and a half paved lanes wide -- no shoulders -- high stone or tree/shrub-lined borders (like driving in a drainage channel) -- very twisty and hilly, extremely limited visability re oncoming traffic -- often used to connect quasi-parallel primary roads -- depending where are (rural vs really rural area) you can expect to spend twenty-five percent of your time or more driving on these roads. Rarely do they have posted speed limits -- you go as fast or as slow as you are comfortable driving -- locals average 60-90kph -- they will usually have wide-spaces (the width of two cars plus one foot) every once in a while -- if you meet oncoming traffic, one of you needs to back-up to one of these wide spaces so the other car can get by. On hills, the car traveling uphill must back downhill, yielding to downhill traffic -- it makes an "interesting" experience backing down a quarter mile 20-25% grade hill with hairpin curves, oh yeah! Farm animals commonly encountered on the roadway including sheep, goats and chickens.
4) Unpaved roads -- commonly mistaken for private driveways and a favorite choice for your GPS system! One car lane wide with untrimmed/encroaching shrubs or tree branches -- sometimes referred to as "guaranted employment for auto body or paint shops" -- may or may not have wide-spots, more likely to have farm gate entrances where you can pass or intersecting roads every mile or so -- visibility frequently limited to fifty feet -- these roads are where you really get to see how lucky you are -- if you're religious, you pray that you don't meet anyone. These roads are where you really get to "see the country" -- sometimes offering spectacular views across valleys, charming isolated farm buildings and peaceful pastoral views. No posted speed limits, locals drive fast. Figure on meeting oncoming traffic every fourth or fifth time you're on one of these roads.
Much of the roadway in Europe consists of toll-roads. The up-side is that toll-roads will have rest areas (some with, some without toilets) and service areas with food and gas. The dwonside is cost and passing through the toll plazas. They have lanes for cars with automated payment devices (usually on the left) and lanes for everyone else (usually on the right) -- if you don't have a device, head for the toll booths displaying a large green stylized "t".
Entering a tollroad, you need to take a ticket out of the machine -- leaving a tollroad you need to pay -- either in cash or by credit card -- put the ticket in the left-hand slot, it will show an amount, put your credit card in the slot to the right of the ticket slot or your cash in the cash slot -- you may also encounter a machine where the ticket slot doubles as a credit card slot (you put the ticket in the slot, then put your credit card in the same slot) -- once payment is received the tollgate opens and you resume your journey until you reach the next tollroad.
Should your vehicle break-down on a tollroad, you are required to stay with your vehicle until an emergency tow/assistance vehicle arrives to assist you -- I am not sure if it's free or if there is a charge.
Be aware that unless you are on a tollroad or some primary roads, there will be no place to "pull-to-the-side" to check anything, including a map or directions --or to retrieve something from the trunk.
Speaking of toilets, except on motorways where toilets are provided, the official name for "toilets" is "a tree or bush of your choice" -- be careful where you step at rest areas with no toilets. Most people are somewhat discreet but I have observed people standing/squatting behind or next to their vehicle letting nature take its course. Compared to Europe, we in the USA are very puritanical regarding bodily functions.
Driving is truly an "experience" in Europe!
